One More Tomrrow
by Ashdos
Summary: Charlotte Carter is thrust into the Commonwelath Wasteland armed with only her wit and persistence. Chasing down her son's kidnapper she unknowingly sets into motion a sequence of events that land her in the middle of war. Gaining allies and making enemies she learns how to navigate the cruel, bloody wasteland. Novelisation of F4. Multiple POV (Including Companions). F!SS.
1. Chapter 1

**Portal to the Past**

Husband shot dead, son kidnapped by strange people.

It was enough to send Charlotte Carter's hot blood throbbing through her veins, pushing her to get off the ground and pursue her son's kidnappers. Instead she lay against the cold steel of an empty hallway miles beneath the earth. Despite her blood pressure slowly rising her muscles felt like jelly. She could barely manage to hold her head up. Her eyelids threatened to close but Charlotte forced them open, afraid that if she lulled off to sleep she wouldn't awaken. If she died now then her son was doomed.

Next to her was a pile of vomit that she had released upon collapsing on the ground. The smell had started to sour and she realised she must have been laying against the wall for hours.

 _Get Up! Shaun needs you! Just get up!_

Her own thoughts felt alien to her. How long had it been since she was conscience?

Charlotte pushed back against the wall. Gritting her teeth as she pulled herself up. Her legs wobbled as she stood on them. Her stomach churned and threatened to release again but she swallowed hard to control it.

 _Not like there's anything left to vomit anyway._

Looking down the hallway lit only by the dim emergency lights Charlotte felt a sense of nausea wash over her. She couldn't tell if it was the shock of waking up, her loss, or fear of seeing what was above ground. She took a second hard swallow and stepped forward down the hallway. With every shaky step she felt her memories flooding back. She recognised the hallways even though she only saw them once. She could practically feel the anxiety that was in the air that day. They had all made it down to the vault but not before seeing one of the explosions in the distance. She remembered how scared she was. She worried about what that meant for the world. She wondered if she'd ever see the blue sky again or feel sunlight on her face, or was that world gone forever?

Now though she didn't care. That Charlotte that cared about the sunlight, blue skies and butterflies died with the world. She didn't feel like that Charlotte anymore. Perhaps it was the cyro-sleep, or perhaps it was witnessing her husband killed in cold blood. All she was now was a shell. A husk wandering through dimly lit corridors looking for either a gun or an exit. Her future depended on which one she found first.

* * *

It was a strange device. It was even stranger seeing it hanging limply to a skeletal hand. Charlotte kneeled down slowly, her knees cracking as she went down, and scooped up the device. She shook the skeleton from it and turned it around in her hand. She'd seen it before on T.V. A Pip-Boy, the latest one to hit the market. Heralded as the greatest piece of technology to hit modern American homes. On T.V they looked shiny and almost like a sci-fi prop from a movie. Charlotte recalled Saturday nights curled up in front of the T.V watching late night soap opera's and being bombarded with ads about the Pip-Boy. She, like every other American, couldn't help but marvel at the technology.

Now holding it in her hand it looked like an old artefact from the stone age. Rust consumed most of it, no longer shiny. The screen had collected so much dust she couldn't even see it. She smeared away the dirt with her palm and examined it for an on button. She flicked a switch on the top and heard it whirring and buzzing. Then green text appeared on the screen. It continued booting up until it came to the main screen. A little cartoon man looked up at her. He had a big grin on his face and black round eyes. Suddenly he animated to life and held out a thumb towards her. Charlotte suddenly felt mocked by it. She imagined the boy in the screen smiling at her and saying

"You're fine Charlotte, now get out there and save your son"

She wasn't fine. Moments ago she broke down crying because the pistol she found was empty and the ammunition was locked up. If there was a God he was teasing her.

 _Or maybe God want's me to get the hell out of this fucking tomb._

Charlotte slipped the Pip-Boy on her wrist and tightened the buckles. She felt it grip around her skin but it wasn't uncomfortable. Suddenly the screen changed to show her stats. It illuminated her blood pressure, her heartbeat, temperature, radiation level, and a slew of other stats she didn't understand. She switched the screen to the GPS. It showed Boston and the surrounding area. Nothing was noted except a Vault Icon where she was situated. Someone had logged in Vault 111.

She could acknowledge that it was a miracle she was even alive. Despite her situation the odds should be stacked against her, but here she was. At the Vault 111 exit. Except to escape, the door control panel needed a Pip-Boy, more bad luck. Except the man who controlled the door died years before and the Pip-Boy clung to his bones patiently waiting for Charlotte to wake up and find it so that she could escape. To her that was a true miracle. Waking up and being trapped in the Vault with only corpses and roaches would have sent her starving mad.

She gulped in the stale air and plugged the Pip-Boy into the control panel. She expected a mess of options to appear and for her to spend hours tweaking with them until she figured out how to open the door. Instead a simple message appeared.

 **VAULT DOOR REMOTE ACCESS READY**

She wasn't sure what to do next. The big red button beside the remote access portal didn't do anything when she'd pressed it earlier. But perhaps now that she'd plugged in the Pip-Boy it would work. It made sense that the Vault would allow only the guy wearing the Pip-Boy to open the door. They wouldn't want just any Joe Blow messing with the panel. Charlotte slammed her palm on it.

"Vault door cycling sequence initiated. Please stand back" a monotonous voiced echoed through the chamber. Alarms rang out above her and red lights spun around the room lighting up the skeletons that laid forgotten against the walls. Heavy machinery lowered, it looked like a giant drill. It creaked and screeched as metal rubbed against metal. Charlotte blocked her ears, her head throbbing from the noise. Then came another even louder noise as the drill locked into place and spun. The door unlatched as metal released from the sides. Sparks flew and the drill forced the door open. For a second Charlotte panicked that it would jam. If it did she'd have to go digging for manuals and possibly spend months trying to fix it. The thought of spending another minute in the cold metal tomb filled her with dread.

Her chest tingled as she struggled to breath. Watching the gears turn and force against each other made her heart beat sluggish. Looking at the Pip-Boy indicated that.

Suddenly a gush of air flew through, throwing dust around Charlotte as she coughed it out of her throat, Her ears popped from the pressure change and when she looked back at the vault door it was open. The drill lifted up to its resting place and the bridge extended towards the exit. Suddenly her heartbeat spiked again. She almost tripped over the skeleton as she clambered to the bridge. She had to hold herself on the railings as her muscles were still tender. She crossed over and went down the steps. A memory of the people that were gathered here as the bomb fell flashed in her mind, a reminder of what was outside. A yellow gate to the platform they'd come down on lifted slowly.

Then there was silence.

No alarms or metal grinding. Just the dead silence with only her raspy breath and throbbing blood. All the threats outside bombarded her at once. Radiation, people, Chinese, starvation, poisoning, dehydration, wild animals, fire, sickness, loneliness.

The thoughts forced themselves to be acknowledge. Her mind showing her the many ways she could die. Then flash of the gunshot that killed her husband James. Then the thoughts disappeared. Except one.

The scar-faced man that took her baby.

Shaun.

He was out there amongst all those threats. With that scar-faced man. No one else was gong to save Shaun. She was only one left to do it. Charlotte realised that if it had been James that lived and she died then he would have been out there by now. He wouldn't let the fear hold him back. He'd seen war. He'd seen fear and conquered it. James Carter the American Soldier wouldn't be standing here right now gripped with fear.

 _It should have been me James. I'm so sorry._

Charlotte stepped onto the platform. Suddenly the dark, cold vault didn't seem so bad of a place to die.

The gears started grinding and the platform slowly raised. Charlotte gulped for air as her chest tightened and her stomach flopped. Tears swelled in her eyes as she looked up towards the ceiling parting open. Sunlight piercing her eyes.

Blinded by light and deafened by the machinery, Charlotte's legs wobbled beneath her. In that moment she wished she'd stayed frozen. Everything overwhelmed her. Her heart skipped and jumped in her chest. Her body broke into uncontrollable shakes.

Until the grinding stopped. Her ears were still ringing but the noise had stopped. Light shone behind her eyelids. Her breathing slowed down. The air smelt... fresh. It wasn't like a Spring day with a breeze carrying the smell of laundry, BBQ's, and pollen. It was dry and crisp. She could smell the dirt. More importantly she could feel the sun ebbing against her skin.

Charlotte opened her eyes, the light forcing its way in. She blinked away the spots in her eyes and gazed out over the landscape.

It was a dry, grey husk of its former glory. The brilliant blue of the sky contrasted with the dirt brown land. Charred black trees dotted the horizon. Ruins of the neighbourhood's old houses crumbling. A great fire had consumed the world and left it behind in ashes.

Yet somehow Charlotte felt calm. She'd already imagined every possible scenario. What she didn't consider is that after a bloody war the world could be so quiet. She needed quiet. She needed to think. Her thoughts were running away and she needed them now more than ever. So she headed down the desolate path through the charred forest and past the broken down equipment. Passing the people that didn't make it to the vault that day. Her neighbours that could have easily been her, James, and Shaun. But it wasn't. They'd made it to the Vault.

She wanted to sit and think. Give her muscles time to heal. She headed to the only place she knew she could think. Her office in her home. She didn't know what to expect but at that moment all she wanted was to be home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Only One Survives**

Upon approaching Sanctuary Hills Charlotte could see that most of the homes had stood the test of both bombs and time. The structures still stood. The gardens were charred and dead, the paint peeled away, the picket fences rotted, and the cars burnt to their frames still parked in the garages. The road was cracked with weeds growing through. The old oak tree that stood at the end of the cul-de-sac was reduced to a black, dead tree no longer throwing shade over the homes.

Charlotte walked in the middle of the street. Analysing every detail of the post war Sanctuary. No longer the middle class suburban neighbourhood that had been voted Neighbourhood of the Year four times in a row. Now it sat silently, ghosts of its past still haunting the homes as no one had looted them. Charlotte suddenly wondered how many years had it been? She looked on the Pip-Boy but it didn't give any indication of time passing. How long could she have been kept on ice?

 _Clip Clip Clip_

Charlotte spun around. She knew that noise. Sunday mornings when the sun shined through their window her and James were always welcomed to the sound of their robot butler Codsworth clipping the hedges out front.

Her weak arms gripped her stomach as she watched a rusted Codsworth clipping at a dead hedge. She didn't move for moment. She felt like she was looking at a ghost. She had felt delirious coming down the hill from the vault. Despite how weak she had felt it seemed as if she had floated down. Her body didn't feel like her own. Now she watched her old robot clipping worn out hedges as if it was any old Sunday.

As she approached him she could hear him humming to himself. Unique programming his creators had added to make it seem as though he were more human and to give the sense that he enjoyed his work.

"Codsworth" Charlottes voice croaked. It was dry and sore. Like she had sucked in a breath of cold air on snowy winter day. Codsworth turned his three eyes to look at her. Even without a human face Charlotte knew she had startled him.

"As I live and breath, its REALLY you" he burst in his cockney British voice. Charlotte was thrown off by how genuine he sounded. Like his voice was about to crack. It took another moment for her mind to catch up and say something to him.

"I can't believe you're... still here" she could barely hear her own raspy voice. Codsworth spun his floating three armed body to face her. Charlotte reached a hand out and touched his cold metal body. She could feel the rust beneath her numb fingertips. He was really there. He wasn't a paranoia induced daydream. He really had been clipping dead hedges waiting for his masters to return. She felt a pang of sympathy for him, even despite his lack of consciousness.

"Oh yes Miss Charlotte! I've been feverishly awaiting you and Sir's return. Uh, where is the master?" Charlotte's face tightened. She let out a deep sigh.

"He's gone Codsworth." She whispered.

"Gone? Gone where? When will he return?" Annoyed by his intrusiveness Charlotte stepped closer and screamed at Codsworth.

"He's dead!" Silence hung between them. Only the sound of Codsworth rocket filled the air. Charlotte shook her head. He was just a robot. He wouldn't understand mortality of humans.

"These men... they killed him and they took Shaun"

"Mom, these things you're saying. These horrible things sound dire. You must be suffering from Hunger Induced Paranoia. Not eating properly for two hundred years will do that to you" he declared in his usual posh, upbeat voice.

Charlotte glared at him. Trying to decipher what he said.

"Two hundred years? That can't be right"

"Well that's what my internal clock says Mom. Two centuries since you, master and Shaun left for the vault. Where is the young lad anyway?" Charlotte stared around neighbourhood. Two hundreds seemed unfathomable. She shouldn't be alive.

 _What the hell were those pods for?_

Looking around at the desolate houses she realised it made sense. She wasn't dying of radiation which meant ample amount of time must have passed. Codsworth seemed in good shape for a robot that had been hovering around for two centuries. Except for his ability to comprehend Charlotte's loss.

"I told you Codsworth. Shaun is... he's gone"

"Nonsense. I'm sure he's around somewhere. Perhaps if we look he'll turn up. In the meantime we can prepare you some food, you must be famished" Charlotte gestured to the house.

"Lead the way" She didn't have the strength to argue with him. Her muscles had held out so far but she could feel them getting tired. Her stomach still curdled with nausea but she figured food would fix it. Besides Codsworth wasn't programed for Nuclear war.

Or perhaps Codsworth was just in denial. Could a robot be in denial?

"They're- they're really gone... aren't they?" Codsworth's voice had a tone of sadness that surprised Charlotte. Of all the years that he'd been with them she'd never heard anything but enthusiasm from him. She never really questioned how detailed his AI was beyond butler services. Did Codsworth really miss James and Shaun?

"James is gone, forever. Shaun is still out there somewhere" Charlotte sat in their old kitchen. The bar stool no longer had a cushion on it making it uncomfortable. Everything had succumbed to time and radiation. Most of the furniture had been destroyed and some of the tiles on the walls had dropped revealing the world outside. It didn't really feel like home anymore. She didn't even have old dirty clothes to change into. She was stuck in the bright blue and yellow vault 111 jumpsuit. She hated wearing it but she couldn't go out in the stark.

"It's been so dreadfully dull around here. All this time I waited for your return. To go back to being a happy family. I tried so hard to keep this house in shape. Do you know how hard it is to get nuclear fallout out of vinyl wood floors?" His voiced peaked as he talked. He seemed to be having a meltdown.

"And the car! How do you polish rust!" he boomed. Charlotte sat back and eyed the emotional robot. She couldn't imagine what he'd been through. It was cruel of his programmers to lock an emotional AI inside a robot that only existed to serve. But with no one to serve he must have been... lonely.

"It's fine Codsworth. I'm here now and we can fix things. But I need you to tell me what you know"

"Well, I don't know much. All I know is that you and the master and Shaun left so quickly then the bombs dropped. I thought for sure you were all... dead" He tone went sombre. Once again Charlotte was surprised by his sincerity. Those scientist really were ushering in a new era, until the bombs dropped at least.

"But I do have this though" Codsworth plucked a holotype from his dispensary and gripped it in his claw. He held it to Charlotte.

"I believe James wanted you to have it" Charlotte took the holotype and read the black marker label written on it.

"Now why don't I fix you a meal" Charlotte stared at the tape. The writing was James's handwriting. He had beautiful cursive writing, unlike her own. He had made a tape for her. Her throat tightened.

"Forget the meal. I-I have to rest first." Charlotte shot up and headed to the hallway.

"Perhaps some water then? Mom? Miss Charlotte?" Codsworth called out to her back. She disappeared into Shaun's old bedroom.

* * *

 _Oopsie. Ha ha ha. No no no. Little fingers away. There we go. Just say it. Right there. Right there. Go ahead, Ha Ha! Hi Honey! Listen..._

 _I don't think Shaun and I need to tell how great of a mother you are... but we're going to anyway. You are kind, and loving, and funny. That's right and patient. So patient. Patience of a saint, your mom used to say. Look, with Shaun, and all us being at home together... It's been an amazing year. But even so, I know our best days are yet to come. There will be changes, sure. Things we'll need to adjust to. I'll re-join the civilian workforce, and you'll shake the dust off that law degree..._

 _But everything we do, no matter how hard... we do it for our family._

 _Now say goodbye, Shaun... Bye bye? Say bye bye?_

 _Bye honey! We love you!_

The sun had dipped below the horizon casting its last golden rays across the wasteland by the time Charlotte turned off the holotape. Even when it was switched off she could still hear James's voice echoing in her head Hi honey! Like a ghost haunting her. Shaun's cooing sounds ripped her heart in half. She missed silently creeping in his room at night and watching him sleep peacefully. Those times she wanted to wake him up and cuddle him, she never did lest he be reduced to a fit of crying. Now sitting next to his rotted cot listening to his baby sounds from two hundreds earlier she wished she had cuddled him every chance she had. Now she longed to hold him in her arms, to see his big brown eyes just like his fathers. Instead she gripped the Pip-Boy, her arms shaking and her eyes stinging from dried up salty tears.

And James. She missed him horribly. Hearing his voice again reminded her what a great man he was. All the doubt she had about their marriage washed away with a single holotape. Or perhaps it was the fact that marriage seemed like such a small insignificant thing in this world. Either way she had been wrong about him. She wanted nothing more than to tell him how much she loved him. To tell him she was sorry she ever had doubts.

She always knew he deserved better than what he got. He deserved a planned pregnancy with a woman that actually wanted a family. Not lawyer who saw it all as an inconvenience. He deserved a beautiful happy marriage not a shotgun wedding to the woman he knocked up. Even so, they made it work. Since Shaun was born everything seemed to work. She wanted to be a mother, and James wanted to be a father. Maybe they weren't a perfect binding couple with a passionate marriage but they were a family. They always put their family first, he left the military and Charlotte bought the house. Both had made their sacrifices but they turned out to be worth it.

It just took losing them both for Charlotte to realise what a perfect life they had. James was wrong though, their best times were not ahead of them.

Charlotte leaned back against the wall and looked at the cot. She switched on the holotape again and let her eyelids slowly drop.

 _Oopsie. Ha ha ha. No no no. Little fingers away. There we go. Just say it. Right there. Right there. Go ahead, Ha Ha! Hi Honey! Listen..._

* * *

Stars glittered in the sky. It was a cloudless, crisp night. Charlotte appreciated how beautiful the post nuclear war sky was. It seemed everything else was tainted. Sitting by the makeshift campfire and stirring the stew her thoughts got lost. The spoon scraped against the rusted pot as she stirred, it was almost hypnotic. The smell of boiled meat and root lingered around her whetting her appetite.

She could hear Codsworth's rocket as he approached from the darkness. The only light came from the campfire, everything else was drowned under the dark, new moon night.

"Glad to see you're getting your three- er well, two meals a day Miss Charlotte. I'm sorry the food is so horrid. I'm afraid molerats and roaches are all that's around these days. Too bad the market isn't open anymore" Charlotte barely heard him. She looked down into the pot of brownish boiling water with meat floating around.

"You said there were people in Concord" she said still staring into the pot.

"Yes mom. But they're not the friendliest of people. The last time I wandered there they pummelled me with rocks and sticks. Dreadfully rude they were" his pompous voice echoed through the street.

"If they've never seen a robot then they were probably scared of you." Charlotte looked up at him. His rusted silver body throwing the fire light around.

"They won't be scared of me"

"Oh mom you're not thinking-"

"Yes, I'm leaving. Tomorrow at the earliest."

"But why mom? You're safe here. You have food, shelter, and nothing dangerous lives here. You have a much better chance of survival here Miss Charlotte" he sounded anxious. In the last week of living in the post-war Sanctuary Hills with him Charlotte had become accustomed to his human likeness.

"The way I see it I have two choices. Either I stay here haunted by memories until I die or I go out and look for Shaun" Charlotte tapped the spoon against the pot. She picked up a bowl and dished some of the stew into it.

"I can't stay here Codsworth. I just can't" She expected protest from him but he said nothing. He hovered in place. She wondered for a moment if he had finally malfunctioned after two centuries.

"If anyone can find Shaun, it's you Miss Charlotte"

He had said it with such integrity that for a second Charlotte believed him. Then she realised she had no idea where to even start looking for him. The truth was more complicated than just finding Shaun. He was as gone as James was. Right now she just needed to move forward- do something so that James's voice would stop plaguing her.

"I'm going to Concord to find people. After that, I don't know, I'm doing this the only way I know how- one step at a time"

"That's the Charlotte I know! Determined, unstoppable, clever Charlotte" Codsworth spun on the spot, a show of his excitement. She wondered if robots could go crazy, had Codsworth gone crazy?

"What should I do?"

"You're going to stay here. Keep an eye on things. I might need you if it gets... messy"

"Of course mom, I'll hold down the fort, now eat your supper. You'll need all the strength you can get"

Charlotte spooned the stew and slurped it hungrily. As she swallowed the Geiger counter on the Pip-Boy began ticking away. She gotten used to the sound after a week of hearing it. Her radiation ticked upwards slightly, nothing lethal but she knew she couldn't eat like this forever. After she found people she wanted to figure out how they survived. If she wanted to find Shaun she needed to stay alive.

And eating radiative molerat wasn't going to keep her alive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Standoff**

A bead of sweat dripped down his face. It had been four days since they'd been trapped in the Museum of Freedom- the irony had not been lost on Preston Garvey.

He peered out the broken window into the main street of Concord- the town in ruins. He peeled his eyes left and right for any bold raiders that felt like ambushing them again. They were silent for now. He prayed that this would be the day they finally moved on for easier quarry.

"Hey Meat Bags!" the raider that Preston assumed was the leader stepped out. He sauntered down the road, almost skipping. Preston's hopes vanished as the raider smiled up at him. He wore big goggles and a bandana over his hair. The most unnerving feature was the belt of severed ears, fingers, and toes he wore around his waist- almost like a skirt.

He packed a pistol on his hip and blood rusted machete on his back. Preston knew his type. They weren't just survivalist, they were sadists. If the leader managed to get his hands on Preston and his group, death was the best outcome they could hope for.

"That's far enough" Preston bellowed down to them. His deep voice echoing through the demolished town. The leader threw his hands up in mock surrender. Even though the raider was alone Preston knew his crew were hiding just out of sight. He made sure not to let himself be vulnerable to sniper attacks.

"Listen you can't hide in there forever. Why don't you and your folks just come on out, hand over your supplies, and we'll be on our merry way" Preston smelt grease as Sturges crouched next to him and looked out the window.

"You believe him?"

A woman screeched from behind them, Marcy Long ripped at her hair.

"Let's just do what they say I can't stay here anymore!" she sobbed into her palms as her husband Jun Long comforted her.

"These aren't just ordinary raiders Marcy, they won't just rob you and kill you. They'll do much worse" Preston talked deeply to disguise the shakiness in his voice. Marcy glared at him then turned and buried her face in Jun's chest.

"So what do we do?" Sturges asked. Preston looked out at the leader. Even from a few metres away he could see the sadistic grin on his face.

"I'm not betting our peoples lives on this freaks words. We stay here. Shoot when they get close and hope they leave. They'll get tired eventually and move on to an easier target." Preston never moved his eyes from the leaders face. Preston could see Sturges hard face from the corner of his eye. He had a look of _Not giving up eh?_

"Well I'll take night watch again tonight. You get some rest" Preston kept his laser rifle aimed at the raider. He wanted to kill him but doing so would set off his men. They'll go berserk and storm the Museum. It was better just to pick them off as they tried to get close, besides Preston already counted the ammunition, he didn't have enough bullets for every raider he counted.

 _Keep five bullets handy just in case._

"Don't wanna play by my rules? Fine! We'll do this the fun way. Bring her out boys" Preston looked back to the street. A raider carried a woman out as she bucked and writhed in his arms. She wore a blue jumpsuit and appeared unarmed. The leader ripped her into his arms and held the pistol to her head.

"Let me go you fucking assholes!" she struggled in his arms until he pressed the pistol to her temple and whispered into her ear. His grin never leaving.

"If you don't come out here and face me hero I'm blowing this bitchs brains out all over the pavement." Preston aimed down the sights. He couldn't get a clear shot without hitting the woman. He winced as sweat dribbled into his left eye.

"Looks like they found their 'easier target'" Sturges said. Marcy screeched again. Preston looked around the room wondering if any of them were fit enough to go out there and fight. Marcy was hysterical and he doubted she would let Jun go out. Mama Murphy had been sitting quietly the whole time, smiling at a piece of art hanging on the wall, completely unfazed by the situation. He wondered if she'd gone mad or just high on Jet. Sturges was the only one that had stood a chance, if it weren't for his knee slowing him down.

Preston looked back down the sights. He had to save the woman. She was just an innocent bystander that wondered into the wrong place. If not save her then at least spare her with a quick death. His trigger finger spasm as he tried to force himself to squeeze it. He'd never killed a civilian before but if he didn't do it he knew the raiders would use her as leverage. Torture her, rape her, anything to get a response. Better she died a painless death now.

Just as Preston squeezed the trigger the woman leaned forward then thrashed her head back, head-butting the raider in the mouth. His grip went lose and she ripped herself from his arms and lurched toward the museum.

"You fucking bitch!" the raider lifted his pistol but Preston shot first. Blood and brains splattered behind the raider across the road. Half his head disintegrated into ashes. Only his left eye and cheek remained. He stood for a second then dropped like a rag doll.

"Get inside" Preston shouted to the woman in the blue jumpsuit. She hurled herself forward and disappeared beneath him. He heard the big wooden door open and close. She was safe.

But only for a few moments.

The rest of the raiders appeared from their hiding places. They called out to their leader, his body laid limply on the rode with blood pooling around his head. There was a moment of confusion as they analysed what had happened. Once they realised their beloved leader had been shot, the fury unleashed. Gunfire sprinkled the museum as Preston shot off two cells. Each time his laser rifle vibrating in his arm.

He shot a few raiders that tried for the front door. There were so many and he couldn't shoot and deflect the bullets whirring past him.

"What the fuck did you do!" Marcy rang out. Her cries filled the room. Mama Murphy still looked as cationic as ever. Then the door to the room opened.

The woman in the blue jumpsuit, which turned out to be a vault 111 jumpsuit, walked in. Her eyes were wide and her breath shaky.

"Glad to see you made it" Preston stood up and greeted her. She stared at him for a moment. Preston saw something in her eyes. Fear? Shock? Until she blinked and the look vanished.

"Thank you, for saving me"

"Don't thank me just yet"

"Garvey they're inside" Sturges unclipped his 10mm. Preston loaded more microfusion cells into the laser rifle.

"It's time to get that Power Armour Garvey" Sturges eyes pierced Preston's. Preston glanced around the room. The people who relied on him stared back- except for Mama Murphy. Up until this point he considered one of two happening. Either they were captured and left to the mercy of the raiders or Preston used the last of the ammunition to put everyone out of their misery, himself included.

Now that the raiders had gone rabid they were more likely to get overwhelmed and shot on sight- better than being captured. Which meant Preston was willing to try one last crazy idea- retrieve the Power Armour and use it against the raiders.

"Not you Sturges, you've got a bum leg and we can't be slowed down" Sturges opened his mouth to protest when Jun stepped forward.

"I'll go. I can keep up" Preston noticed the sombre look on his face. He recognised it immediately- it was the look of a man who knew he was doomed. Marcy thought otherwise and clung to his shirt.

"NO! You're not going. Please Jun! Please don't go" she dropped to her knees still clinging to him. Her tears soaking through his shirt. Her loud sobs drowned out his comforting words. Preston realised Marcy did know these were their last moments- but she wanted to die with Jun. Preston couldn't fault her.

 _So this is what's come to huh? Easing people to their deaths? The only question left is- do we finish it ourselves or let the raiders do that?_

"I'll go" Preston was ripped from his thoughts. He looked at the stranger. She held her chin up towards him.

"I can run. And I've used Power Armour before. The world doesn't need another widow" She gestured towards Marcy who still sobbed on her knees. Preston almost opened his mouth to tell the stranger- The Power Armour won't make any difference I was just saying that to give these people hope. But he bit his tongue. Something in her face made the adrenaline pump through his body. They'd all given up on getting out alive- except Mama Murphy who seemed to barely be alive. Yet this stranger look and spoke with a conviction of someone who still had fight left in her, looking at her he felt as though he were sobering up from the toxic hopelessness he'd felt the for the last two months.

"It's on the roof, next to the broken down Vertibird. You can get up there using the emergency stairs on the west side of the building."

Preston lifted his rifle and stepped towards the woman. She nodded back at him.

"Let's do this"

The two of them headed towards the west door. Preston led the way out and the stranger closed the door behind them. They kept low as the crept towards the stairs.

A shot rang out and chipped a pillar next to them.

"Kill them. All of them" Bullets peppered them from downstairs. Preston could see the flash of the their barrels as they fired from dark corners. So he aimed and did what his training taught him. He shot when he saw the flash of gunfire. He couldn't see them but he could hear them crying out and thudding against the floor. The stranger flashed past him and disappeared up the stairwell. Preston fired off a few more shots and followed behind.

He leapt up the stairs two at a time until he finally reached the top. The stranger opened up the old Power Armour and stepped inside. It closed around her body as she stood up straight. She towered over him in the mechanical suit. The helmet lit up as the armour stirred to life after years of being dormant. Heavy breathing echoed from the armour.

"Are you ok in there?"

"Yeah- I just forgot how claustrophobic these things are" she said through the helmets microphone.

She looked menacing. Preston hadn't seen many people wearing the tech suits but when he did he couldn't help but feel vulnerable. The woman moved her arms around, the metal groaning as she did. She hopped on each foot testing out any weaknesses.

"You know how to use that thing?"

"Sort of. My husband used to take me to his base and let me try them on. Never been in a firefight with it though" Preston scrutinised every inch of the armour. He planned on using her as bait, let her take the heat and he could kill off as many as he could. Ammunition was still a problem but he hoped the remaining raiders would run. The suit had dings and scratches but it could handle a few more. Preston searched around the Vertibird, ammunition would be useful. As he looked on the other side of the aircraft he spotted a miracle.

"Hey you think you could rip this off" He gestured to the stranger who stomped her way to him. Her first few steps were awkward. For a moment Preston worried she would drop through the wooden roof. As she reached him she followed his gaze.

"Yeah probably" she let out a chuckle and wrapped the big metal hands over the minigun attached to the Vertibird. It groaned in protest but eventually snapped causing her to wobble on her feet before catching herself.

She lifted the minigun to test its wait. She fumbled with it and couldn't seem to hold comfortably until she rested it against the hip of the Power Armour. Preston felt a grin spread across his face. Maybe they had a chance after all?

Preston followed behind her as she went down the stairs. The mechanical suit creaked with every movement and the heavy footfall echoed throughout the entire museum. It wasn't stealthy but Preston Garvey didn't want stealthy. He wanted guns blazing. He wanted each and every one of those low life raider scum to know what was heading their way.

 _Its time these raiders know what the Minutemen are capable of._

As they reached the bottom he was surprised to see her step out into the open. She stood at the top of the main entrance stairway. Immediately the raiders fired on her. He could hear the bullets pang against the metal and he questioned how many bullets it could take. The metal clad stranger lifted the minigun and squeezed the trigger. The barrel started spinning as bullets filled the chamber then burst sporadically through the room.

The raiders frenzied as they ran to cover. Wood chips exploded around the room. Preston lifted his laser rifle and began shooting down the raiders that ran for cover. They were focused on the Power Armour soldier filling them with 5mm bullets that they didn't notice Preston picking them off one by one.

The raiders escaped through the front door and the stranger followed not easing up on the trigger. Preston followed closely behind using her as cover. When they got outside the remaining raiders dashed in every direction. The minigun blasted in every direction the stranger turned to. Preston suspected that she didn't hit many of them but it effectively scattered them. He crouched on one knee and aimed down his sights at the retreating raiders. Every time he squeezed the trigger he thought of every future victim he saved from the mercy of those raiders. He pictured every fallen Minutemen and Commonwealth citizen that fell prey to these scum. He thought of the people he couldn't save in the Quincy Massacre. He thought of the people they'd lost on the journey to find sanctuary.

As he shot one raider hobbling in the distance he heard the minigun sputter as it ran out of bullets. The stranger dropped it on the ground and looked around.

There wasn't a raider in sight. Preston's heart began to slow down. He looked up at the midday sky. It was a bluebird day and the sun had reached its zenith. He closed his eyes for a moment and lingered in the warmth of the sun rays.

They were alive. That morning he thought the day would end with bullets in their heads but now he knew it would end at their final stop- Sanctuary Hills. The Museum of Freedom would not be their grave. They were so close now that nothing could stop them. After everything they'd been through, they made it. The people that died along the way- his men- they didn't die in vain. He could get them there, like he promised.

"Do you think they're gone" Preston opened his eyes and looked at the armoured stranger. He couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Yeah I think you scared them off" He took off his hat and fanned himself with it. Finally the sweating had stopped. The metal grinded as the stranger stepped out of the suit. For the first time Preston had a good look at her.

She was tall and slender. Perhaps even a little famished. Dark brown skin that looked weathered around her eyes- which Preston noted were a soft hazel colour. But her most prominent feature was the mess of long black curls she had tied back. Every time she moved her head her curls bounced around behind her. Preston marvelled at how healthy it looked.

 _Not only saved by a stranger but a beautiful stranger. Luck is on my side today._

"I don't know who you are but you're timings impeccable. Preston Garvey. Commonwealth Minutemen." He lowered the rifle and held out a hand. She looked at it before accepting it.

"I'm Charlo- I'm Charley" she hesitated but Preston was too relieved to care.

"Thanks for your help Charley. The Minutemen could use more people like you" She cocked her head at him.

"Minutemen?"

"Protect the people at a minutes notice. At least that's what it used to be" Preston caught himself going off track.

"We're headed for Sanctuary Hills. You're welcome to join us if you like" She pondered on his invitation.

"I better come with you. I don't want you shooting Codsworth"

"Whose Codsworth?" Charley gave him a lop-sided smile.

"I have a pretty unbelievable story to tell you. Get your people and we'll get going"

Preston shook his head and looked back up at the sky. A sky he didn't think he'd see again. He thought about his Corporal. Corporal Rottingham, the man who led Preston into his first ever fire fights. Every time the battles finished Corporal Rottingham would tell the squad the same thing.

"One more tomorrow"

 **A/N- Greetings Readers. Just a quick note to introduce you to the story and me. This is planned to be a novelisation with a few changes to it. It is mutiple POV, Preston Garvey being the first companion narrator introduced. It's not a story I want to rush so it will have slow moments here and there but it'll have typical Fallout action sprinkled about. My aim is for it to be very character driven so bare with me as I attempt to pull that off. If you're enjoying the story so far I'd love to hear it (I'm vain I know) or if you have some suggestions (constructive critique or plot wise) I would love to hear your thoughts since at the end of the day I'm using this fiction to better my writing and I hope as people go through chapters the writing improves.**

 **Otherwise I plan on updating twice a week however I do project based work so some weeks I may be working 60 hours and have no time and other weeks I'll be doing 15 hours and can probably bust out 3 or 4 chapters. Either way this will get written as Fallout is a universe I've always wanted to write in and I love the companions from Fallout 4 too much not to include them.**

 **Anyway Cheers :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rebuild, Renew**

* * *

As soon as Preston Garvey's refugees arrived into Sanctuary Hills they didn't waste time rebuilding the street. Sturges set up a workshop across the road from Charlotte's old home. She remembered it belonged to Mr and Mrs Hoffman, but nothing remained to indicate they ever even existed.

Codsworth welcomed the sight of the strangers and immediately boiled water for them to drink. Which urged Sturges to bring the first matter of settling.

"We need drinking water. We can't boil it every time" Although he stood before the entire group he only addressed Preston. Charlotte noted that Preston was the unofficial leader of their rag tag band of wanderers.

"Whatever you need I'll get for you. Marcy and Jun, you two can start looking for soil for us to plant a few crops in. Mama Murphy will catalogue our supplies make sure we don't run out of anything. Sturges and I will work on a water pump and Charley..." Preston looked over her way. She had slunk to the back. Unsure if she was considered one of them or an outsider. She had told Preston her story on the way back. He was shocked at first, then bombarded her with questions about the old world.

"You and Codsworth can look around Sanctuary for scrap. Anything not nailed down you bring it back"

"Scrap?" she wondered if this was truly a job that needed to be done or a way to keep her busy and out of the way.

"Yes, scrap. Sturges can break down the components and use it to build things we'll need. If this settlement is ever going to get up and running we need everything we can get" Everyone remained silent. Charlotte noticed Marcy's brow was furrowed. Her bottom lip trembled but didn't open. She suspected something deeply bothered her. Too tired to care Charlotte announced that she would be retreating for the night. Sturges and Preston were the only ones to wave goodbye.

As Charlotte crossed the road to her old home she heard boots running behind her. A leather gloved hand held her shoulder. Preston stood beside her. The fire light threw shades across his face, making him appear older than he was.

"Hey I wanted to speak to you about something" his eyes dipped to the ground briefly before looking back at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong. That's kind of the point I wanted to make. What you did back at Concord, that was brave. You saved us." A humble smile appeared on his lips. His kind eyes managed to make her smile for a moment.

"There's no need for thanks. I was trapped in there with you" Preston let out a chuckle.

"I know. But you stepped up to the occasion. Not everyone can do that. I just wanted you to know that... I'll help you in any way I can. Adjusting to this world can be hard so if there's anything you need you let me know" Charlotte smiled and nodded at him. Her suspicion of her place among them expelled. Preston titled his hat at her and departed back across the road.

"Hey Preston" Charlotte called out to him. He turned and looked at her.

"We made a pretty good team back there" He stifled a laugh and nodded.

"Yeah I think your right" He waved goodbye and headed inside Mr and Mrs Hoffman's old home- now Sturges's workshop.

* * *

"What about this mom?" Codsworth clamped an old telephone and held it out to Charlotte. She eyed the decrepit artefact then offered the sack which Codsworth dropped the telephone into.

"Preston said that anything not nailed down is useful so we'll take it" She dropped the sack and rifled through cabinet files. After spending days in the wilderness around Sanctuary Charlotte decided it was time to check the sheds set up around Vault 111- she didn't dare go inside the vault.

"Oh dear" Codsworth sighed. Charlotte followed his voice out of the shed. He stood over a pile of bones. He reached in them and pulled out a handgun.

"I think it's still loaded" He turned one eye towards Charlotte. She leapt down the stairs and stood beside him.

"It wouldn't hurt to carry a weapon"

"Mom!"

"What? I almost got killed in Concord because I was unarmed" Codsworth dropped the gun.

"You always said that guns aren't safe. You told Sir he couldn't have one in the same house that you and Shaun lived in" Charlotte rolled her eyes at Codsworth.

"That was a very long time ago. Besides, the house is all but gone. So is..." She gazed off into the woods. A breeze brushed her curls around her face, tickling her nose.

"So is Shaun"

"Oh Mom. I'm so sorry." Codsworth hovered for a moment before picking up the gun which Charlotte took.

"Just promise you'll use it safely" Charlotte couldn't help but smile at his sincerity.

"Maybe Preston can teach me how to shoot it properly, it's no good to me if I can't hit anything" Codsworth shot upwards, his robotic arms flailing around.

"Excellent idea mom!" Charlotte tapped his metal body.

"But first lets scavenge all this junk"

* * *

Days blended together for Charlotte. At first it felt like a day dragged on and she begged for the sun to go down so she could go to the sleep and forget about the world she was in. Until one cold morning she woke up and found that her first thoughts were not of Shaun or James's voice. Instead she crawled out of bed, put on her boots and threw wood on the campfire. Afterwards she collected water from the creek and boiled it. As she started chopping molerat meat the sun cast its first rays across the landscape. By this point Mama Murphy had risen. Her old bones creaked as she hobbled out to the driveway and sat by the fire.

"It's a cold morning isn't it?" Charlotte nodded. Mama Murphy eyes seemed dimmer than usual. Perhaps it was the grey morning light. After cooking the meat and boiling the water Charlotte served a dish up for Mama Murphy who slurped it slowly. Her hands shaking as she lifted the bowl to her lips. Charlotte wondered how much longer the old woman had.

After eating her own breakfast she scooped up a bowl for whoever was on guard duty. Wandering down the street she observed the dark, still homes. She no longer considered them her neighbours homes. In fact she had all but forgotten most of their faces. Now they were just empty homes that needed to be rebuilt for more settlers in the future. As she got closer to the guard perch she realised it wasn't Preston Garvey.

It was Jun.

"Hungry" Jun leapt on the spot and spun to look at Charlotte who held out the bowl of hot molerat stew. She caught him licking his lips so she placed it in his hands. He put down the rifle and sat on the guard perch to eat.

It had been almost month since they had arrived. Most had consumed themselves in their goal of rebuilding the settlement. Preston travelled to nearby farms and traded weapons for their food. He had promised them that the Minutemen would be returning soon. Sturges spent most of his waking life either building the water pumps or fixing the structures of the houses. Marcy kept to herself. She stood out in the soil digging and planting the crops. They had only just started sprouting but Charlotte knew with Marcy's undivided attention they would grow well. Charlotte made a habit of spending her evenings with Mama Murphy. Every night it seemed the old woman had a new story to tell and Charlotte absorbed the details of the world Mama Murphy grew up in. Most fascinating was the 'new people' she heard about. Ghouls and Super Mutants.

Charlotte could understand the raiders and maniacs- consequence of limited resources. What she didn't expect was the existence of immortal scorched looking humans. Mama Murphy had a lot of ghoul friends and Charlotte had developed a morbid fascination with meeting one. In fact everyday she found herself looking over the bridge longing to know more of the crazy world she now lived in. Then she would remember the feeling of the cold steel of the raiders pistol pressed against her temple and rid the idea from her mind.

Jun however had been quiet since arriving. While Marcy had expelled her frustrations by slaving under the hot sun Jun mostly seemed invisible. He did odd jobs. He helped Marcy in the crop patch, helped Sturges with the water pump, and helped Preston guard the settlement. Recently he had even helped Charlotte and Codsworth in scavenging. He and Codsworth had gone down the vault together to find more supplies. Charlotte refused, knowing the ghosts that were down there frightened her to her core. As it turned out she wasn't needed. Jun had gentle hands that could pick the lock of the ammunition and doors Charlotte couldn't open. For a week he went down and brought up new supplies. Preston had his ammunition and Sturges had untainted pre-war tools to work with. On the last day Jun brought up flutes, tubes, glass, and a boiler. For the following week he stayed in the backyard of one of the houses building his own workbench. As it turned out he was building a chemistry station. He went down the vault one last time and emerged with antiseptic and blood packs. That was when Charlotte learned that he Marcy ran a pharmacy back in Quincy. After the attack they had lost everything. Their home. Their shop. Their entire wellbeing. Looking at his dead gaze now as he ate the stew Charlotte could tell they probably lost a lot more.

"How are you holding up?" The question threw Jun off guard. He looked startled to see she was still standing there. Hot stew dribbled off his chin when he answered.

"I'm ok."

"You and Marcy have been through a lot. If you ever want to talk about it I'm here"

"We've all been through a lot"

"Even more the reason to look out for one another" Charlotte patted his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. For the first time she saw a glimmer of emotion in him.

* * *

"A radio?" Marcy's voice held a tone of disgust. Sturges gathered everyone at his workshop to announce his latest achievement. One of the ham radios Codsworth and Jun had found was repairable. To present it he flicked the switch and the needles flicked forward and back. He roared in laughter and looked back at the settlers. His smile faded when he didn't get a response.

"It's a radio people come on. We can reach out and get some help. Think about it. If I can reach Bunker Hill maybe I can get a caravan to come out here and bring us some more supplies" he said with an uncanny Boston accent. Charlotte realised not everything died in the war.

"You can't be serious" Marcy said. Everyone else remained silent until Preston stepped forward.

"Not only that but we can use it to recruit more settlers. If we can attract more people here that can free us up some time." Marcy shot Preston a scorned look.

"So you just want to broadcast our location to the whole damn Commonwealth? Are you fucking stupid or something? Am I the only one that remembers Quincy? Those asshole Gunners are still looking for us!" she screeched. Sturges's vein throbbed under his skin. He narrowed his eyes at Marcy.

"Who says their still looking for us? We don't know that"

"And we don't know that they aren't" Marcy snapped.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take"

"I won't let you touch that fucking thing" Marcy stepped in front Sturges. Their eyes lined up and Charlotte could hear their deep breathing. Preston pulled them apart.

"Listen no one is using it until we can all agree on how to use it. So why don't we put it to a vote" Marcy stepped back but kept her eyes on Sturges.

"All in favour of not using the radio put your hand up" Marcy's arm shot up. Mama Murphy slowly raised hers. Jun looked between everyone. His eyes met Charlotte's and she could see the fight that was happening behind them. Then slowly he raised his arm.

"All in favour of using the radio put your hand up"

Sturges and Preston's arms went up. When Codsworth put his robotic arm up Marcy screamed at him.

"He can't have a vote he's a robot" Sturges rolled his eyes at her.

"He's as part of this settlement as you and me. Robot or not"

"This isn't fair! He doesn't have to worry about dying, he's just a toaster!"

"I beg your pardon madam" Codsworth lowered his arm. "I may not be human but I'm certainly not a toaster" Preston let out a loud sigh. He caught Charlotte's stare and shook his head.

"Ok fine we won't use the radio"

"What the fuck Garvey? Charley didn't even vote" Sturges motioned at Charley and everyone's attention diverted to her. She felt her chest tighten and suddenly she wished she could just disappear.

"Her votes as useful as the robot. She doesn't know what she's voting on. She wasn't at Quincy" Marcy stepped in front of Charlotte and stared up at her. Charlotte stood almost a head above her. But Marcy didn't back down.

"You don't know what's out there. Those raiders you saw? They're not the worst thing that could come after us" Charlotte could see the fear in Marcy's eyes. She realised that she was right. Marcy had lived through the massacre, and the journey to finding a new settlement. Charlotte couldn't fault her for not wanting to have to keep fighting.

"She's right Preston. I shouldn't vote"

"Bullshit!" Sturges slammed his hand on his workstation. Marcy grabbed Jun's arms and stormed into the house. Mama Murphy sat quietly. Charlotte could see her eyes looked glazed over- like she was barely aware of what was happening.

"Just when I think things are going to get easier" Preston sighed and moved past Charlotte. Codsworth hovered over to her side.

"Can you believe the manners of that woman. Very shrewish" Codsworth exclaimed. Charlotte shook her head as she watched Preston descend down the street to the bridge.

"She's just scared Codsworth. They all are" She looked back at the robot butler.

"Always the perceptive one mom. If only there was a way to please everyone"

"There never is"

* * *

A hammer banging across the road lulled Charlotte from her sleep. She had stayed up the night before talking to Jun. After finding him smoking under the charred oak tree she sat and spoke with him deep into the night. She had been right about him and Marcy losing more than just their shop.

They had lost Kyle.

Their son had been so impressed by the Minutemen when they showed up in Quincy. Charlotte expected that the Gunners had been responsible for Kyle's death. But it had been the Minutemen that had him accidently shot in his leg. Jun and Marcy had depleted their pharmacy supplies on injured Minutemen and locals that they had barely anything left for Kyle. Two days later he died of infection and was buried in the graveyard.

Jun blamed himself. Charlotte couldn't help but think of Shaun. She didn't want to travel down that rabbit hole but couldn't shake the feeling that she hadn't done enough- and still wasn't doing enough. Kyle was dead and buried. Shaun's whereabouts were unknown which meant he could still be alive.

Sunlight spilled in through the cracks. For the first time in a while she had woken up after dawn. He body ached as he lifted herself off her sleeping mat. Outside the sun was warm but the wind was chilly, clouds brewed in the distance and drifted slowly towards them.

Sturges banged at his workshop. He looked deep in concentration so Charlotte didn't disturb him. Her thoughts went to Jun and his story about Kyle. All night she had worried what bringing up his pain might cause. There were guns lying around that he could easily use.

Charlotte headed towards his chemist station behind one the houses near the bridge. Her heartbeat relaxed when she saw him tweaking with potions.

"Good morning" she yawned. Jun looked at her and smiled- the first time she had seen him do it.

"Sorry to keep you up last night, I... I didn't plan on... telling you all that" Charlotte waved a hand at him.

"Talking helps Jun. And I'm always here to listen" Jun nodded and smiled at her before returning to his work. He shook a flute with liquid inside it. Charlotte cocked her head.

"What are you working on?" Jun paused for a minute. He looked at the chemical then at Charlotte before putting it back on the beaker.

"If I tell you, you can't tell Garvey. Promise?"

"What are you doing?" Charlotte crossed her arms. Jun put his hands up defensively.

"I'm making medicine for Mama Murphy"

"I don't think Preston would protest to that" Jun scratched his head.

"Well its more like _her_ medicine." Charlotte stared at him and furrowed her brows.

"She's a chem addict Charley. I don't know if you noticed but she's been out of it lately."

"So you're making drugs for her?" Jun pushed his palms into his eyes.

"It's not like that. Mama Murphy was addicted to chems back in Quincy. She ran out a few weeks ago and... she's an old woman Charley. Going cold turkey might kill her"

"And giving her drugs wont?" This time Jun looked directly at her. He breathed heavily through his nose.

"What I'm making is safe for her. It's not as strong as what she's used to but it'll keep the shakes at bay. Besides the alternative is worse" Charlotte uncrossed her arms and lowered her voice.

"What alternative?" Jun looked out over the wilderness growing between the rotted picket fences of the backyard.

"I've been keeping her stable with morphine"

"Morphine? You're wasting medicine on her?" Charlotte's voice echoed through the broken window of the house. Jun's arms went up defensively.

"She was going crazy. She couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, her shakes were real bad Charlotte. I didn't know what else to do. She begged me to help her. I can't just turn my back on a desperate old woman, especially not Mama Murphy. Not after she saved us" Charlotte rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She couldn't fathom how feeding an old woman drugs could be helpful.

Then again, after everything they all went through perhaps something to ease the pain wasn't such a bad idea. Heaven knew that if she had found pills when she first left the vault she wouldn't have hesitated to down them. Jun wanted to keep Mama Murphy's side effects under control. It explained why she had been so out of touch lately.

"Back in Quincy, she knew the Gunners were coming. She said the chems showed her a vision of the chaos. She warned the Mayor and he sent for the Minutemen. They turned out to be useless in the end but maybe if she hadn't told the Mayor and the Minutemen never showed up, Preston wouldn't have led us out of there and we'd all just be another rotting corpse on the street" This time Jun stepped towards Charlotte and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I know it sounds crazy. I didn't believe her back in Quincy but after everything she's predicted, well, I listen to her now. She's not just some crazy, old woman, she has a gift. We came to Sanctuary because she could see it in her visions" They stood staring at each other for a moment. Charlotte's voice escaped her. She had expected Jun to defend his actions but not with a tall tale of clairvoyants and magic. She shook her head at him.

"Look Jun-"

"Don't believe me? Here" he took the flute with the liquid inside and shoved it into Charlotte's hands.

"Give it to her. See what happens"

"I'm not giving her drugs" Charlotte tried giving it back but Jun refused to take it.

"She saw you. She saw you waking up from a frozen sleep" Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Jun.

"She said she could feel your energy coming closer everyday. That's why she was so calm back in Concord. She knew you were coming." Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose. If he was telling the truth her sympathy for him and Mama Murphy was diminishing. They were clearly both delusional from grief. Jun desperately wanted to find answers in a world ripped apart and Mama Murphy was probably going senile.

"She knows about Shaun. She knows he's still alive" Charlotte snapped her head to look at him. She bored into his eyes looking for signs of maliciousness. His eyes went glassy.

"She said she can still feel his energy"

"Don't"

"Just give her this and talk to her" Charlotte held out the flute.

"I'm not listening to this shit anymore" Jun wrapped his hands around hers and pulled her closer.

"Why would I say this Charley? I wanted to tell you when the time seemed right. I wanted you to know that your son is still alive."

"Fuck off!" Jun tightened his grip. He leaned in and whispered.

"I know what you're feeling. I lost a child too remember. I wouldn't bring this up just to add to your pain. I want to give you the chance to save your son, because I couldn't save mine" Charlotte's eyes stung from the tears springing into them. Her face flushed with heat and she restrained from flogging Jun across the head with her free arm.

Yet a part of her believed him. Preston was the only person who knew her story, it was possible he told the rest but why would he? Besides he was a man of conviction. He swore by his word. Then again, perhaps she believed it because she wanted to.

She wanted to believe that Shaun was still alive and that she still had a chance to save him.

Jun let go of her hand. He pushed the hand holding the flute closer to her.

"See for yourself Charley. If you don't believe me then I'll never bring it up again" Jun turned away from her gathered up the supplies on his chemistry station. Charlotte was flabbergasted. She looked at the liquid drug in her hand. Was Mama Murphy's vision real? Or just a drug induced hallucination?

Charlotte decided she'd find out for herself.

* * *

Charlotte found Mama Murphy inside the home of Sturges's workshop. She wandered down the driveway, past Sturges, and into the home. In the last room on the left Mama Murphy sat quietly in a ripped up, old, cushioned chair. She gazed out the window that faced the backyard. Marcy was out there tearing up more soil for planting. Off in the distance the thick, black clouds hovered closer. Blotting out the sun the sky cast everything in a dim grey light. Mama Murphy sat still enough to look like an old grey-scale vintage photo, besides her hands which shook uncontrollably in her lap.

Charlotte knocked gently on the door frame before walking in. Mama Murphy slowly turned to glance at her with her dull blue eyes. A small smile parted on her lips.

"Come to entertain an old woman?" she spoke with an old, creaky voice. Like a violin that hadn't been tuned in years. Charlotte planted herself on the bed adjacent to Mama Murphy. She still gripped the flute in her hand.

"How are you feeling?" Charlotte had been shocked to learn of Mama Murphy's addiction and even a little frustrated by what Jun was doing for her. But when she walked in and saw her staring out the window, hands shaking, eyes soft, Charlotte remembered she was still a frail person. Jun was right forcing her off chems wouldn't help her. She'd die slowly in agony. Even though Charlotte hated how the morphine was wasted she admired Jun for finding the alternative. Whatever she had brought for Mama Murphy she hoped it wasn't too strong to hurt her but strong enough to conjure these 'visions'.

"My body is aching real bad kid, my bones ain't what they used to be" She turned to look out the window again. The grey light reflecting in her ancient eyes that Charlotte knew had seen the best and the worst of the Commonwealth. She wore a cloth wrapped around her head and heavy earrings that hung on her drooping ears. To Charlotte she almost looked like a caricature of a gypsy woman.

"Jun told me about your visions... and about the morphine"

"Oh, I hope you're not disappointed" Mama Murphy said without looking at her.

"No. I was at first but... there are things that I just don't understand yet. Besides, it's not my place to judge." Mama Murphy gave a gentle "Hmmmm". Charlotte squeezed the flute in her hand, making one final reflection on whether to give it or not.

"Jun asked me to give you this" she held out the flute. Mama Murphy looked at it then at Charlotte. She slowly took it from her hands.

"I suppose you want to know what the Sight has to show you?"

"The Sight? Is that the visions you were having?" Mama Murphy nodded.

"The chems open up a window for me. It can show me what was, what will be, even what is. In Concord, the Sight showed me a vision of you escaping your cold tomb, I knew you were on your way" Charlotte tried to keep an open mind but Mama Murphy still hadn't said anything that Charlotte hadn't shared with Preston.

"This stuff really helps, but Jun made it very weak, bless him, so the Sight will be weak as well" To Charlotte it sounded like an excuse any 'clairvoyant' might give. She pushed away her doubts and watched as Mama Murphy drank the liquid. Her hands shaking as she held it to her lips.

When she finished Charlotte took the flute from her hand. Mama Murphy's pupils diluted. They appeared brighter and more alive than Charlotte had ever seen them. A soft smile appeared on her face, all her wrinkles moved at once as she parted her lips. Her liver-spotted hands began to relax and it appeared her whole body sunk into the chair. Charlotte hadn't realised how tight and rigid she had been before until she saw how relaxed she was now. She reminded Charlotte of her own grandmother, the way she used to sit on her porch and enjoy the weather. Her eyes, soft smile and her rugged body comfortable in the rocking chair. She didn't look high, just relaxed. All of Charlotte's concerns about Jun's liquid chem dispelled as she sat across watching the old lady.

"The Sight, it's trying to show me something. But its real weak"

"What do you see?" Charlotte leaned in close.

"A heart. A bright heart glowing against a dark alleyway. The Emerald Jewel of the Commonwealth. Your destiny is in Diamond City, not here in Sanctuary" It all sounded like gibberish to Charlotte but she mentally noted the important parts- a glowing heart, Emerald Jewel, and Diamond City. She wanted to ask what it meant but worried that interrupting Mama Murphy would cast away the vision.

"You're destiny is big, kid. I don't need much Sight to know that"

"What about my son? Where's Shaun? Is he alive?" Mama Murphy squinted her eyes at the ceiling. She appeared to be staring at something she couldn't quite see.

"I- I can feel his energy. Its very strong"

"Where is he?" Charlotte's voice went shaky. She felt a lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry kid, I don't know. But he's alive somewhere. Oh boy, I'm getting tired" Mama Murphy closed her eyes for a minute. When she opened them they looked red.

"I can't see too much. I don't control the Sight. But your son is alive. The Sight told me you have to go to Diamond City and look for the glowing heart" A raspy cough seized her. Her whole body shook every time she coughed. Charlotte put a comforting hand on her back.

"Thanks for that kid, I'm sorry I can't be more of a help. I'm real tired now"

"I'll let you rest. Thank you Mama Murphy" Charlotte stood up and kissed the woman on the forehead. Her skin felt dry and rough on her lips. Just as she left the house rain began falling from the dark sky.

* * *

Rain poured down and flooded through the lower parts of Sanctuary Hills, slowly filling up the creek. Everybody had gathered in the house with the campfire for dinner. Mama Murphy didn't leave her room all evening, so Jun took in stew and helped her eat. Other than the occasional comment from Codsworth everyone stayed silent, their thoughts drowned out by the rain pattering against the roof. After finishing, Jun and Marcy left for bed. Sturges lit up a cigarette and watched the rain from his workshop. Preston slinked off quietly to one of the empty houses- presumably for privacy. Charlotte had noted the look on his face throughout dinner. Down cast eyes, stirring his stew around and staring into it for lost answers.

It was a look of hopelessness- a feeling that Charlotte was all too familiar with. She remembered how hopeless she had felt when she'd first found out she was pregnant with Shaun. She remembered how badly she had wanted a drink then and there, but didn't. Charlotte decided that she would help Preston relax with a drink. So she had headed out into the rain into her old neighbours house. He had bar installed in his living room, most of the bottles had been destroyed save for a bottle of whiskey that Charlotte scavenged from the rubble.

She crossed the street into the house Preston went into. A dim lantern flickering in the windows. When Charlotte entered she saw him leaning against the kitchen counter staring out into the darkness.

"Want some company?" Preston looked at her. Water still dripping down his face. He had taken off his Minutemen coat and hat.

"Yeah, sure" he didn't sound enthusiastic but Charlotte knew a drink would change that.

"I brought you something to help you relax a little" She swirled the bottle in her hand. Preston gave his usual chuckle. He smiled and looked up at her.

"I really shouldn't. I'm on guard duty tonight"

"Let me do it."

"You've been scavenging all day, it wouldn't be fair." Charlotte snorted.

"I scavenged for forty minutes. There's nothing left out there" Preston's smiled faded. He turned back to the window.

"It was only a matter of time" he said quietly. Charlotte put the bottle on the counter and popped off the lid.

"We'll figure something out." Charlotte took a swig, the alcohol scorching her throat as it went down. She sputtered and coughed before holding out the bottle for Preston. He took it and swigged from it as well, the alcohol having the same effect.

"Oh man this taste like rocket fuel" he said with a course voice. Charlotte laughed and took another swig, Preston shook his head and repeated the motion. After drinking a few gulps from the fallout alcohol Preston settled it on the table. Charlotte felt a warm burn in her stomach. Her head felt light, it had been a long time since she had drank.

"This was a good idea" Preston eyed the bottle. He turned it around in his hands. Charlotte could see the feeling settling inside him again.

"What's wrong Preston?" he drew a deep breath and sighed. He looked up at Charlotte.

"Sometimes I wonder if its all worth it. Did I really save these people or just put off the inevitable?"

"Even if you did only buy them time its still another day alive"

"That's not what I wanted. I don't want people to just survive. I want them to live. To actually thrive. That's why I joined the Minutemen. I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. I put so much faith into them that... well, they're gone now. I'm the last one left" Preston lifted the bottle to his lips and knocked back another gulp.

"I thought it was all over, until you came along. That day in Concord its like it all came flooding back. The fight, the faith, my will. Since then its been driving me to keep going, to keep trying to save the Commonwealth. Now I'm thinking I bit off more than I can chew. We're stuck here Charley and I don't know what to do" Charlotte leaned on the counter and caught his eyes.

"You just keep going Preston. You've gotten this far, why stop?"

"It's not that simple. I made us vote on the radio because I wanted this to be a democracy. I didn't want to go against the will of the people you know? But I came here tonight to think. After everybody goes to bed I wans thinking about using the radio to contact Bunker Hill. Try and organise a caravan with supplies. Maybe broadcast for more settlers. But I'd lose everyone's trust. Even Sturges"

"No one said being a leader was going to be easy. Making hard decisions like this is what being a leader is all about." Preston stared back at Charlotte. She could see the doubt painted on his face.

"Whatever you decide to do I'll support you" Charlotte said. Preston gave a half smile before drinking from the bottle again.

"That doesn't change the facts though. Marcy's right. Gunners could find us. Or any raiders for that matter. Anyone who wants an easy target will come after us. Even if Bunker Hill does respond it'll take them days before they get here. They're as far as Diamond City is" Charlotte's attention tweaked at the mention of Diamond City. She thought of Mama Murphy's vision.

She had her doubts about the reliability of Mama Murphy's claims of the Sight. But she also couldn't shake the irresistible urge to follow the clues. What if she was right? What if her destiny did wait for her in this place called Diamond City?

But then she thought about everything else she had lost. Did she really want to follow the same destiny that took away her husband? Her entire world? Then the scepticism took over. The side that wanted to believe and the side that doubted fought over her actions every minute. But now it seemed for the first time they aligned. That she could follow the destiny Mama Murphy claimed was in Diamond City and make herself useful to the people of Sanctuary Hills.

"I'll go"

"What?" Preston paused midway through a swig.

"Don't use the radio. I'll go to Bunker Hill in person and talk to them" Preston furrowed his brow.

"Its a long trip Charley. You can't just wander over there. Besides its dangerous. You don't know the way and you'll get killed before you even get close"

"Then come with me. Show me the way and keep me safe. When were there we can talk to them. No broadcasting. All of it under the radar" Preston mulled on it and finished taking his swig.

"We can't just leave everyone behind, they'll be vulnerable"

"They're vulnerable now Preston. You said it yourself its only a matter of time before someone or something finds us holed up here. We won't be able to protect ourselves. This is the best option you have and I'm willing to go with you, watch your back." Charlotte hadn't noticed that she'd walked around the counter and stood in front of Preston. He was trapped between her and the counter.

"Why though? Why do you want to go? You could get killed out there" Charlotte took the bottle and drank from it. She wiped the dribble from her lips.

"Because I'm going to Diamond City. If you can get me close enough I can manage the rest. It's a win-win for both of us. You help Sanctuary and I get to reach Diamond City" Preston squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Even if I get you to Bunker Hill the rest of the journey is still dangerous. Diamond City is right in the middle of the Boston ruins, its infested with raiders and Super Mutants. Even I wouldn't go in there" Charlotte stepped back. Her eyes stared down at her feet.

"I don't expect you to understand Preston. But I need to get to Diamond City. Even if it kills me" She heard the liquid slushing as he took another drink.

"You're crazy you know that?" Charlotte didn't say anything. Her heart thumped in her chest. For the first time her direction looked clear but she couldn't walk the path alone. She needed someone to help her, she needed Preston Garvey.

"But your craziness has saved us before" Charlotte looked up and met Preston's usual lop-sided smile. He held the bottle to her which she took.

"We'll go to Bunker Hill. We'll get a supply run to Sanctuary. We'll get you to Diamond City." Charlotte's eyes widened. Her jaw slackened. Preston patted her shoulder.

"After everything you've done for me its the least I can do" Charlotte leapt onto him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you Preston" she slurred into his ear. He patted her back and laughed.

"If we're going to leave tomorrow we should lay off the booze" Charlotte pulled back and drank from the bottle.

"Last one" she winked at him. Preston winked back.

* * *

It was a cold, grey morning. The ground had muddied after the storm. Charlotte felt her stomach groan when she was woken by Preston. Her mouth felt cottony but otherwise she felt fine. Jun had prepared them breakfast and helped pack a few supplies. Marcy stomped around the house and the campfire, refusing to look at either Preston or Charlotte. Sturges helped Charlotte put leather armour over her chest and back. He supplied her with a holster belt and a modified 10mm handgun with sights. Even though Preston had shown her how to shoot, Sturges felt the sights would help. Charlotte said one last goodbye to Mama Murphy who had been too stiff to sit up. She parted with a thank you and a kiss on the head.

As they reached the bridge they turned and faced Sanctuary and the group. Sturges had been happy with their idea and spent the whole night making armour for Charlotte and modifying her weapon. Jun made a few stimpacks and supplied antibiotics from the vault. Marcy begrudgingly wrapped corn and tatoes up for them. They had a few dried molerat meats that Charlotte packed away. Before crossing the bridge Sturges wished them good luck. Jun stood in front of Charlotte.

"Be safe out there Charley. Don't wander too far from Preston" Charlotte nodded and smiled.

"I'll be fine"

"We'll keep each other safe" Preston added.

"Don't you tell anyone about this place" Marcy spat. Charlotte tried her best to not snap back at her. She had to remind herself of what Marcy had lived through.

"Keep your eyes on the road." She didn't know what else to say. Marcy was a hard woman to please and Charlotte admired Jun's patience and resilience. Although Marcy never spoke to Jun badly. In fact, she was always gentle with him. Charlotte, Preston, and Sturges usually copped the attitude.

Preston and Charlotte headed across the bridge. Most of it had stripped away over time but there was still a path to follow. The wood creaked under their boots as they walked. Charlotte took one last glance back. Sanctuary looked desolate and old under the grey sky- she wondered what it would look like when she would return.

 _If I ever make it back that is._

"You ready for this?" Preston looked at her sideways. His laser rifle snug in his arms. He wore his Minutemen duster coat and hat. He looked regal and proud.

"Hell yeah"

* * *

 **A/N- Sanctuary Hills is behind us now. What is waiting in the Commonwealth? Find out soon. Anyone who is still reading I thank you for your time and I hope your enjoying the story.**


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